Juan Williams Offered $2 Million Contract By Fox News After Firing From NPR

Fox News moved swiftly to turn the controversy over Juan Williams’s firing to its advantage, offering him an expanded role and a new three-year contract Thursday morning in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, Matea Gold reports.

Roger Ailes took a jab at NPR in the process.

“Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997,” he said in a statement. “He’s an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.”

In his new role, Williams will appear more frequently on the network and have a regular column on FoxNews.com.